WAILS of grief followed the royal procession of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s body as it slowly moved from Siriraj Hospital to the Grand Palace late yesterday afternoon.

Thousands of His Majesty’s loyal subjects crowded along the route, some camping for hours under the scorching sun to show once again their undying love and loyalty for him.

The late king passed away peacefully at the age of 89 on Thursday.

His loyal subjects were in a sombre mood, dressed in black and white, mourning the passing of the country’s greatest monarch.

Since the news of his passing spread, Thailand has plunged into deep grief.

Along the royal-procession route, there was a moment of complete silence as the van carrying His Majesty’s body moved past onlookers. There was a tear in everyone’s eyes and sadness in their faces as the van drove by.

Somkuan Chiew-on, 68-year-old pensioner, was among the crowd of weeping mourners.

“I thought I could accept what happened. But the second I saw the van carrying his body, I burst into tears. It was more depressing than I had ever imagined. It hurt to witness this sad event with my own eyes. I also suddenly realised that everything will not be the same anymore,” Somkuan said.

HM Queen Sirikit, HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn and other royals were part of the procession to bring the late king’s body to the Grand Palace.

The royal procession moved out of Siriraj Hospital via its Gate 8. It then turned right into the Arun Amarin Road and followed the route over the Arun Amarin bridge, Boromratchachonnee Road, crossed the Somdet Phra Pinklao Bridge, Rajdamnoen Nai Avenue and Na Phra Lan Road before accessing the palace compound.

Even after the royal motorcade entered the Grand Palace and was out of sight, some of the crowd quietly sat where they had camped out for hours and cried.

“It’s too early. I used to wait and welcome the King along roads. He waved his hands to greet his people. But this time, he did not wave anymore. It’s heartbreaking,” Chanida Patikaraphong, the 40-year-old businesswoman from Bangkok said at the end of the procession.

“I feel empty and breathless,” said Boonwan Phrachankarn. The 72-year-old travelled from the southern province of Surat Thani alone and stayed in Bangkok at her granddaughter’s house.

Many of the loyal subjects along the route yesterday said they would come to the Grand Palace again today to stay close to the King’s body.

Inside the Grand Palace, the royal bathing ceremony for the late King took place in the evening. It was followed by the prayer ritual. The Crown Prince took part in both ceremonies.

They were part of the crowd that formed a long line in front of the Grand Palace in the morning to take part in a water-pouring ceremony for their much-revered monarch. The ritual was performed before a portrait of the king.

Inside the hall, those who joined the bathing ceremony sobbed even harder when they approached and poured water in front of the picture of HM.

“Everyone who saw his picture could not hold back our tears when pouring the water and thinking about him,” said Jongrak Julprasertwong, 80, from Bangkok, who travelled to the Palace alone in the early morning.

Public Health Ministry’s permanent secretary Dr Sopon Mekthon said all state hospitals were instructed to prepare for Thais who might need additional care as they tried to cope with the immense grief from the passing of their much-beloved King. “A medical and public health emergency operation centre and a mental health crisis emergency centre have been set up to monitor people’s health around the clock under the leadership of deputy permanent secretary Dr Kiattiphum Wongrajit,” Sopon said

Kiattiphum said grieving people should stay in a group and try to change their sorrow into positive energy such as praying or doing good deeds for His Majesty’s merit including donating blood, donating organs or volunteering in social services. As the late King was a great inspiration to all Thais, many of his loyal subjects have already made a pledge on social media to follow in his footsteps and serve the national interest.

The King died in Bangkok’s Siriraj Hospital after 70 years of rule. He had been in poor health for several years but his death shocked Thailand and plunged it into mourning.

In Southern California, home to the largest Thai community in the world outside of Thailand, the sentiment was no different. About 100,000 people of Thai descent came to the United States in three major waves starting in the 1950s and continuing to the present, according to Thai Community Development Centre executive director Chancee Martorell.

About 50,000 reside in Los Angeles County, mainly dispersed between two major clusters within the city of Los Angeles – the east Hollywood community known as Thai Town and the northeastern corner of the San Fernando Valley, she said.

Stella Boonyawan grieved over the news outside the Buddhist Wat Thai Temple in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley after praying for the late king.

“I just know that I loved my King, he is the King that helped everybody – helping the poor, everything, you know?” Boonyawan, a Thai expatriate, said. “You’ll never find a king like our Thai King, in the whole world. Our King [was] the best.”

King Bhumibol, a king worshipped as a father-figure and who was born in the United States, guided the nation through decades of change and turmoil.

Nikki Hwonsuwan, a waiter at the Thai Patio on Hollywood Blvd, the main thoroughfare through Thai Town, said she and her family were in mourning.

“My King passed away, so I was … so depressed,” she said. “I think it was the time that he needed to rest.”

Meanwhile in Cambridge, Massachusetts, many Thais gathered at King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand Square in front of Mt Auburn Hospital, where he was born on December 5, 1927.

Mourners placed bouquets of flowers there to express their grief for the loss of their beloved King.